Steven Schiff, MD, PhD, Director, Fogarty International Center

Steven Schiff, MD, PhD, is the ninth director of the Fogarty International Center, and Associate Director for International Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

A pediatric neurosurgeon, he joined NIH on June 4, 2026. Prior to joining Fogarty, Dr. Schiff served as the Harvey and Kate Cushing Professor of Neurosurgery, Vice Chair for Global Health, Department of Neurosurgery, and Professor of Epidemiology and of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Yale University.

Dr. Schiff founded the Center for Neural Engineering at Penn State University and has worked to develop the Center for Global Neurosurgery at Yale. He received the NIH Director’s Pioneer and Transformative Awards in 2015 and 2018, respectively. He has worked toward the sustainable control of infant infections in the developing world, and this has evolved into an exploration of what he calls ‘predictive personalized public health.’ He also led the discovery of a highly lethal infant brain disease, known as neonatal paenibacilliosis, which is an invasive infection caused most commonly by the bacterium P. thiaminolyticus, and is increasingly recognized as an underdiagnosed cause of neonatal sepsis, particularly in resource-limited settings as well as recently recognized in U.S. infants.

Dr. Schiff received his undergraduate degree in Biology from MIT. He earned his MD and completed his general surgery internship, PhD, and neurosurgery residency at Duke University. He completed his pediatric neurosurgery fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American College of Surgeons, American Association of Neurological Surgery, American Physical Society, and the American Epilepsy Society. He serves on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Medical Devices Advisory Committee and as a member of the Executive Committee, Topical Group on Medical Physics of the American Physical Society. He has published nearly 250 scientific papers across a variety of topics, including neural control engineering, sustainable health engineering, and global health.

Education

BS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MD, PhD, Duke University
Neurosurgery residency, Duke University
Pediatric neurosurgery fellowship, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Professional Accomplishments

Founded the Center for Neural Engineering at Penn State University
Helped develop the Center for Global Neurosurgery at Yale
Served as the Harvey and Kate Cushing Professor of Neurosurgery, Vice Chair for Global Health, Department of Neurosurgery, and Professor of Epidemiology and of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Yale University.
Received the NIH Director’s Pioneer and Transformative Awards in 2015 and 2018, respectively
Selected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American College of Surgeons, American Association of Neurological Surgery, American Physical Society, and the American Epilepsy Society
Serves on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Medical Devices Advisory Committee
Serves as a member of the Executive Committee, Topical Group on Medical Physics of the American Physical Society.

Updated May 20, 2026